I reminded my service writer that it would soon be out of warranty...and to please look at EVERYTHING on the car and anything that needed to be fixed...FIX IT.

They did that...:D

They replaced the right front headlight assembly...the right front TPMS sensor and a couple of other minor things.

He called me yesterday morning and told me the halfcase seal is leaking.
I went by there yesterday afternoon and they were waiting on the GMPP rep to come by and approve fixing it.

I was not expecting anything like this would need to be done.. :(
I was hoping the half case problem had been fixed after all this time.

Superjim

01-20-11, 03:24 PM

UPDATE......

Just got back from the dealer.
When the GMPP warranty guy was there yesterday afternoon... they also discovered the rear cam cover/ valve cover was also leaking.
They are fixing that too.

AND.........Since it has a little over 93,000 miles on it...

I am having the coolant changed and the transmission fluid changed while it is in the shop.
That should be done at around 100,000 miles anyway.

Then I don't have to take it back and have that done at a later date.
Hopefully this is the last time it will ever need to be there for anything other than oil changes.

I am more than a little disappointed that it has oil leaks in two different places and it is just barely 4 years old.

Texas Jim

ltdltc

01-20-11, 04:19 PM

Welcome to the valve cover leaks club!

Hope it stays fixed, mine didn't.

Awaiting approval from a warranty representative? That's a GMPP thing?

I had the CPO and never had to wait for approval.

Superjim

01-20-11, 05:10 PM

Welcome to the valve cover leaks club!

Hope it stays fixed, mine didn't.

Awaiting approval from a warranty representative? That's a GMPP thing?

I had the CPO and never had to wait for approval.

I have never had to wait for approval before...
Maybe because it was such a small leak and it is expensive to repair...I don't know.
I have never had to add any oil between changes and I do not have "ANY" drops of oil on the floor of my garage...so even with TWO so called leaks...it wasn't enough to drip.

Here's hoping it is the last time it ever needs to be worked on. :D :D

Jim

RicktheRealtor

01-20-11, 06:57 PM

I hate to hear about the half case leaks. Had one on my previous 2000 Deville DTS. Thought by 2006, they would have had that issue resolved once and for all. The N* having been around since 1993, how much time do they need to finally fix something so well known.
To the credit of the technician who did my car, it never leaked another drop again even though I put on an extra 40K miles on it.

Superjim

01-20-11, 07:02 PM

I hate to hear about the half case leaks. Had one on my previous 2000 Deville DTS.
Thought by 2006, they would have had that issue resolved once and for all.
The N* having been around since 1993, how much time do they need to finally fix something so well known.
To the credit of the technician who did my car, it never leaked another drop again even though I put on an extra 40K miles on it.

I knew of the previous problem with the half case seal...and I too, figured it was resolved by now.
Evidently not. :D :D
I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Jim

c5 rv

01-21-11, 08:37 PM

case half seal? Please describe or post a link. Search is so sloooow these days as to be useless.

Superjim

01-21-11, 08:59 PM

case half seal? Please describe or post a link. Search is so sloooow these days as to be useless.

The NorthStar block is very different from most other blocks.
Most engines have the crankshaft at the junction of the bottom of the block and the top of the oil pan.
Not so for the NorthStar.

The BLOCK itself is made in two pieces and the crankshaft is a lot HIGHER up in the block...several inches above the top of the oil pan.

Here is a link to the OTHER Cadillac forum where one of the guys did a half-case seal on a NorthStar in an Olds Aurora.

http://www.caddyinfo.com/casehalf.htm

The pics down toward the bottom are the best ones for showing the location of the crank, the half-case and the oil pan.

Jim

c5 rv

01-21-11, 09:41 PM

Why was this deemed a good idea? (As we say in the systems world, "There must have been a reason.")

Superjim

01-21-11, 10:24 PM

Why was this deemed a good idea? (As we say in the systems world, "There must have been a reason.")

Strength...
The NorthStar...WAY BACK YONDER... long before they were put in the DeVille's...was designed as a racing engine.
It has TWENTY BOLTS holding the main bearings.
It has Dual overhead cams...32 valves...etc etc

The high performance design is one reason that so many N*'s use oil.

The rings are designed for high RPM and when Grandma just idles down to the Beauty Parlor once a week...the rings never get any exercise and then the oil control ring STICKS... and then it starts using oil.

A de-stroked N* ran at Indy for a couple of years turning 12,000 RPM..if I am not mistaken.

Jim

c5 rv

01-22-11, 12:40 AM

So, in theory, a supposedly antiquated 4 speed auto that allows the engine to rev up between shift changes would be preferable to some 6 or 8 speed auto that lets the engine lope along at 1500-2000 RPM all day.

Superjim

01-22-11, 09:35 AM

So, in theory, a supposedly antiquated 4 speed auto that allows the engine to rev up between shift changes would be preferable to some 6 or 8 speed auto that lets the engine lope along at 1500-2000 RPM all day.

Not really...
By the time decent 6 speeds came out, the DTS "AND" NorthStar was already slated to be discontinued.

They were not going to spend any money on adapting one of the new transmissions to a platform that was on it's way out. (the front wheel drive DTS)

I would dearly "LOVE" to have the 6 speed that is in my son's GMC Sierra Denali in my DTS.
THAT is a nice transmission. :) :)

Jim

RippyPartsDept

01-22-11, 09:56 AM

Good bit of info there Jim. I didn't know about the N* at Indy, you got a link for more info on that? (i do see it mentioned on the N* wikipedia page)

also, c5 rv, fyi this half case leak is also (and probably more commonly) known as a lower block seal leak

Kenwood

01-26-11, 01:20 PM

What's a repair bill for one of these if not covered by warranty? How common are they?

Kenwood

383 LT1 SS

01-26-11, 01:54 PM

What's a repair bill for one of these if not covered by warranty? How common are they?

Kenwood

It gets to be a slippery slope when you have a half case leak. There are several ways to go about the repair. One is to completely remove the engine and the other is to leave the engine in the car and remove the engine cradle supporting the engine with a special tool. The repair is labor intensive. I have read on other forums where dealers would charge 4k to 5k to fix this problem. Then there are other shops that charge half that amount. Check out this link. http://www.midwestcadillacrepair.com/

This leak is fairly common with N* engines.

383 LT1 SS

raysteen

01-26-11, 07:59 PM

Here is hoping your dealer is more competent than the one I used. Every warranty problem that it was taken for was improperly done and had to have a return. Each and every time it was there there was damage done to the car. I made the mistake of taking it in just before the warranty time expired to have a couple of items they had previously worked on corrected and to check out some play in the steering. They kept it 10 days and corrected nothing. They claimed they changed the steering gear...got it back and more play in the steering and before i realized it a front tire was ruined from being badly out of alignment. I even called Cadillac Customer Service before the warranty was out timewise to validate the problems. Was treated very nicely on the first call. Next calls were less than I would like to comment on, but be assured they had no intention to correct them. Good Luck Jim!